Rep. Blake Farenthold's office confirmed Friday that it had hired private lawyers to investigate complaints from two staffers about inappropriate workplace conduct in 2016.

Stacey Daniels, a spokeswoman for the four-term Texas Republican, told Politico that his office hired an "independent investigative team" to review claims by two Farenthold staffers.

Daniels declined to specify who conducted the inquiry.

One claim was from a female aide, who mentioned to the congressman that his chief of staff, Bob Haueter, treated female staff in the office "differently," Daniels told Politico.

In the second, another employee subsequently said that the first complainant engaged "in inappropriate sexualized commentary in the workplace," she said.

Haueter did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.

Farenthold, 55, has been under attack for using $84,000 in taxpayer money from the congressional Office of Compliance to settle a sexual harassment claim lodged by his former communications director, Lauren Greene, in 2014.

He denied wrongdoing. The Office of Professional Ethics cleared him in 2014.

The House Ethics Committee, however, said Thursday that it was probing Farenthold over the incident.